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The Huck Show

Hanna-Barbera's second series for television, The Huckleberry Hound Show was a syndicated animated series, debuting in 1958. Three segments were included in the program: one featuring the title character Huckleberry Hound, one with Yogi Bear and his sidekick, Boo Boo, and one with Pixie and Dixie, two mice who in each short found a new way to outwit the cat Mr. Jinks; the Yogi Bear segment of the show proved more popular than Huckleberry's, resulting in it spawning its own series (The Yogi Bear Show) in 1961; a segment featuring Hokey Wolf and Ding-a-Ling was added.

In 1961, the series became the first animated program to be honored with an Emmy award, American television's highest honor. The Huckleberry Hound Show was (probably) the series that truly made Hanna-Barbera a household name, and is often credited with legitimizing the concept of animation produced specifically for television.

Background / Production[]

Concept and Development[]

Joe Barbera went to Chicago to pitch the program to the networks. "I had never sold a show before because I didn't have to. If we got an idea, we just made it, for over twenty years. All of a sudden, I'm a salesman, and I'm in a room with forty-five people staring at me, and I'm pushing Huckleberry Hound and Yogi Bear and 'the Meeces', and they bought it."[1]

Barbera once recalled about Daws Butler's voice acting versatility:

"I can remember distinctly when I first met [Daws], I said, 'I kind of like this voice, but I think I'm gonna make it kind of a Southern voice because Southern voices are warm and friendly.' Daws said, 'Well, now I can do a Southern voice which is like North Carolina, or I can do a Southern voice that would be like Florida, that would be a cracker kind of voice, or if you want to get a little harder, we could get into Texas,' and by gosh, he had about twelve different Southerners."[1]

Format[]

The series featured three seven minute cartoons, animated specifically for television. The first was always starring Huckleberry Hound, the next two featuring other characters.[2]


The show was originally distributed by Screen Gems, then by Worldvision Enterprises and then Turner Program Services, before current distributor Warner Bros. Television picked up ownership of the show following its 1996 acquisition of Turner.

Plot / Characters[]

Each of the three segments featured one or two main characters acting as a duo, and numerous one-off or supporting characters.

Huckleberry Hound[]

Huck is a blue hound dog with a hat and a bow tie, who speaks with a country accent. His voice was one that Daws Butler had already developed and used in earlier work, such as the dog character in The Ruff & Reddy Show, Smedley the Dog in Chilly Willy cartoons, and earlier characters in the MGM cartoon library. It was said to be based on the neighbor of his wife, Myrtis; Butler would speak with said neighbor when visiting North Carolina. Huck is known for singing the American folk tune "Clementine" in a number of episodes.

Yogi Bear[]

Yogi Bear's voice and mannerisms were inspired by Art Carney's New York sewer worker, Norton, from the 1950s sitcom The Honeymooners.

Pixie and Dixie and Mr. Jinks[]

Pixie and Dixie and Mr. Jinks's voices were provided by Don Messick and Daws Butler. Dixie (appropriately) talked with a southern twang.

Hokey Wolf and Ding-a-Ling[]

Hokey Wolf (voiced by Daws Butler impersonating Phil Silvers) is a con-artist wolf who is always trying to cheat his way to the simple life (much like another Hanna-Barbera character, Top Cat). He is accompanied in this by his diminutive sidekick, Ding-a-Ling (voiced by Doug Young impersonating Buddy Hackett), who wears a bowler hat.

Reception[]

In the 1961 film Breakfast at Tiffany's, Holly Golightly (Audrey Hepburn) briefly dons a mask of Huckleberry Hound.

The name for Rock et Belles Oreilles, a Québécois comedy group popular during the 1980s, was a pun on the name of Huckleberry Hound ("Roquet Belles Oreilles" in French).

Australian prison slang vernacular includes "huckleberry hound", a term originated in the 1960s, meaning "a punishment cell, solitary confinement."[3]

Media information[]

DVD release[]

On November 15, 2005, Warner Home Video released The Huckleberry Hound Show - Vol. 1, featuring the complete first season of 26 episodes from the series on DVD. The remaining 31 episodes are yet to be released.

DVD Name Ep # Release Date Additional Information
The Huckleberry Hound Show - Volume 1 The complete 'first season'
Huckleberry Hound Show DVD
26 November 15, 2005
  • A bonus collectible animation cel
  • Featurette on reconstructing the premiere episode
  • Never-before-seen bumpers and bridge
  • Segment tributing Daws Butler, voice actor

Gallery[]

Original (1958) syndication[]

Alphabetized by city.

  • WSB-TV / Channel 2 at the time* Atlanta, Georgia
  • WBTV-TV / Channel 3• Charlotte, North Carolina
  • WTVC-TV / Channel 9• Chattanooga, Tennessee
  • WGN-TV / Channel 9• Chicago, Illinois
  • KHSL-TV / Channel 12• Chico, California
  • WCPO-TV / Channel 9• Cincinnati, Ohio
  • KYW-TV / Channel 3• Cleveland, Ohio
  • WEWS-TV / Channel 5• Cleveland, Ohio
  • WKBF-TV / Channel 61• Cleveland, Ohio
  • KFJZ-TV / Channel 11• Dallas, Texas
  • KTVC-TV / Channel 6• Ensign, Kansas
  • WFMY-TV / Channel 2• Greensboro, North Carolina
  • WFBC-TV / Channel 4• Greenville, North Carolina
  • KTRK-TV / Channel 13• Houston, Texas
  • KMBC-TV / Channel 9• Kansas City, Missouri
  • WATE-TV / Channel 6• Knoxville, Tennessee
  • WGAL-TV / Channel 8• Lancaster, Pennsylvania
  • KTTV-TV / Channel 11• Los Angeles, California
  • WAVE-TV / Channel 3• Louisville, Kentucky
  • WMAZ-TV / Channel 13• Macon, Georgia
  • WPIX-TV / Channel 11• New York, New York
  • KTVU-TV / Channel 2• Oakland, California
  • WRCV-TV / Channel 3• Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  • KPHO-TV / Channel 5• Phoenix, Arizona
  • KDKA-TV / Channel 2• Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
  • WIIC-TV / Channel 11• Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
  • WRAL-TV / Channel 5• Raleigh, North Carolina
  • WEYI-TV / Channel 25• Saginaw, Michigan
  • WRGB-TV / Channel 6• Schenectady, New York
  • WNEP-TV / Channel 16• Scranton, Pennsylvania
  • KREM-TV / Channel 2• Spokane, Washington
  • KPLR-TV / Channel 11• St. Louis, Missouri
  • WSYR-TV / Channel 3• Syracuse, New York
  • WTOL-TV / Channel 11• Toledo, Ohio
  • KVOA-TV / Channel 4• Tucson, Arizona

Licensing[]

The characters from The Huckleberry Hound Show spawned various product, publishing, and other licensing deals.

No later than 1961, the characters began appearing "in person" at events across America. Hanna Barbera commissioned costumed characters of Huckleberry Hound, Yogi Bear, and Quick Draw McGraw, which appeared at events like the Florida State Fair.[4] Hanna-Barbera owner Taft Broadcasting started opening theme parks in 1972, beginning with King's Island. These parks included areas themed to the company's cartoons, and included walk-around characters of Huckleberry Hound, Yogi Bear, and others. The characters were also featured on rides, including carousels.

Licensed Huckleberry products included an Aladdin-brand Thermos.[5]

Books based on the show include:

  • Huckleberry Hound Christmas, P. Scherr, Golden Press, 25 cents.[6]
  • Huckleberry Hound: The Case of the Friendly Monster, Ottenheimer Publishers, 1978, 96 pages.[7]

Episodes[]

Season 1 (1958-59)[]

  1. Huckleberry Hound Meets Wee Willie
  2. Lion-Hearted Huck
  3. Tricky Trapper
  4. Sir Huckleberry Hound
  5. Sheriff Huckleberry
  6. Rustler Hustler Huck
  7. Freeway Patrol
  8. Two Corny Crows
  9. Cock-a Doodle Huck
  10. Fireman Huck
  11. Dragon-Slayer Huck
  12. Hookey Daze
  13. Skeeter Trouble
  14. Sheep-Shape Sheepherder
  15. Barbecue Hound
  16. Hokum Smokum
  17. Bird House Blues
  18. Postman Panic
  19. Ski Champ Chump
  20. Lion Tamer Huck
  21. Little Red Riding Huck
  22. The Tough Little Termite

Season 2 (1959-60)[]

  1. Ten Pin Alley
  2. Grim Pilgrim
  3. Jolly Roger and Out
  4. Somebody's Lion
  5. A Bully Dog
  6. Nottingham and Yeggs
  7. Huck the Giant Killer
  8. Cop and Saucer
  9. Pony Boy Huck
  10. Pet Vet
  11. Piccadilly Dilly
  12. Wiki Waki Huck
  13. Huck's Hack

Season 3 (1960-61)[]

  1. Spud Dud
  2. Legion Bound Hound
  3. Science Friction
  4. Nuts Over Mutts
  5. Knight School
  6. Huck Hound's Tale
  7. The Unmasked Avenger
  8. Hillbilly Huck
  9. Fast Gun Huck
  10. Astro-nut Huck
  11. Huck and Ladder
  12. Lawman Huck
  13. Cluck and Dagger

Season 4 (1961)[]

  1. Caveman Huck
  2. Huck of the Irish
  3. Jungle Bungle
  4. Bullfighter Huck
  5. Ben Huck
  6. Huck dé Paree
  7. Bars and Stripes
  8. The Scrubby Brush Man
  9. Two for Tee Vee

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 Tim Lawson and Alisa Persons.; Tim Lawson, Alisa Persons (12 2004). (Scan) pp. 367. University Press of Mississippi. Retrieved on 2008-10-20.
  2. The Television Program (Scan) pp. 335. Hill and Wang (1962). Retrieved on 2008-10-20.
  3. Green, Jonathon (2005). Cassell's Dictionary of Slang (Scan) pp. 1565. Sterling Publishing Company. Retrieved on 2008-10-20.
  4. "Huckleberry Hound To Be At Gasparilla" (Scan). St. Petersburg Times (St. Petersburg, Florida: The Times Publishing Company). 1961-02-12. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Y_QNAAAAIBAJ&dq=huckleberry%20hound&sjid=CHkDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4876%2C603178. Retrieved 2008-10-20. 
  5. The United States Patents Quarterly (1962) at Google Book Search
  6. The Publishers Weekly at Google Book Search
  7. Huckleberry Hound: The Case of the Friendly Monster at Google Book Search

External Links[]

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